A Brief History of the Development of China Ancient Literature
China literature has a long history. As early as ancient times, myths, legends, folk songs and other oral literature have been circulated among the people, although no words have yet been produced. Documents preserved in ancient books and records show that fairy tales such as Kuafu's day by day, the goddess mending the sky and Dayu's flood control shine with the brilliance of Chinese civilization and wisdom.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions's discovery enables the source of China's classical prose to be traced back to Oracle Bone Inscriptions. Shangshu in Yin and Shang Dynasties was quite mature in structure and expression, and naturally became the ancestor of China's classical prose.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the appearance of China's first poetry collection, The Book of Songs, was the first major event in the history of ancient literature. Later generations regard The Book of Songs as the highest model of learning.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were disputes among countries and lobbyists mushroomed. In the political and cultural environment where a hundred schools of thought contend, a group of politicians and thinkers have written a large number of essays with thorough reasoning, strict logic, sharp words and good metaphor, also known as hundred schools of thought's essays. Zhuangzi, Mencius, Xunzi and Han Feizi are the most literary talents in hundred schools of thought. Together with hundred schools of thought's essays, it is a historical prose mainly based on notes. Zuozhuan, Mandarin and Warring States Policy. At the end of the Warring States period, Chu people, represented by Qu Yuan, created Chu Ci. Qu Yuan used this poetic form to create the first lyric poem Li Sao in the history of ancient literature. In the history of literature, it is also called "Sao" with the Book of Songs, which sets an example for future generations.
The Qin dynasty practiced the policy of cultural autocracy, burned books and buried Confucianism, and died the next year, with almost no literature at all. Li Si's "Persuade to expel guests" is a rare and excellent prose chapter in this period, except for a few stone carvings praising the merits of Qin Shihuang.
Chongwen in the Han dynasty, the heyday of the unified empire, required literature to sing and dance. As a result, a literary style that mainly describes emperors and urban life-Ci Fu came into being. Fu is the most popular style in Han Dynasty, and it is the symbol of a generation of literature. Sima Xiangru has Zixu Fu and Shanglin Fu, and Yang Xiong has Ganquan and Feather Hunting. These poems are written in a comprehensive way: mostly for the purpose of singing praises. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Gu's Dong Fu, Xi Fu, Zhang Heng's Tokyo Fu and Xijing Fu were still magnificent works in prose poetry.
The most valuable literature in Han Dynasty is folk songs in Yuefu poems. Han Yuefu folk songs and The Book of Songs are in the same strain, and The Book of Songs is "Hungry people sing about their food, and laborers sing about their affairs". Han Yuefu profoundly reflected all aspects of social life in the Han Dynasty and expressed the wishes and demands of the working people at that time with the realistic spirit of "feeling sad and happy, all because of things". It marks the complete maturity of ancient narrative poetry. Peacock Flying Southeast is the first narrative poem of Han nationality in ancient China.
Literati' poetry in Han Dynasty never achieved anything. Nineteen Ancient Poems, which came into being at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, became a symbol of the maturity of literati's five-character poems. The main artistic feature is that he is good at lyricism.
The achievements of prose creation in Han Dynasty are very high. The most successful prose in Han Dynasty is Sima Qian's Historical Records. What can be compared with Historical Records is Ban Gu's Hanshu, and its achievement is slightly inferior to Historical Records.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, literature gradually got rid of the influence of Confucian classics, gained independent development, and began to enter the conscious era of literature. Poetry, prose, ci fu, parallel prose, novels and other styles have made remarkable achievements. During this period, with Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi as the core, Ye Ren Xia Group was formed with Kong Rong, RoyceWong, Serina Liu, Chen Lin and other so-called "seven sons of Jian 'an", which created the glory of Jian 'an literature. Among them, Cao Cao's poems reflect the turbulent social reality with gloomy and sad brushstrokes, and reveal the poet's ambition to make contributions and unify the world, such as Good, Short and Walking Out of Xiamen, which are all relatively successful chapters. Cao Zhi's literary achievements are the highest, and he is known as "the outstanding man in Jian 'an", White Horse, White Horse, Wang Biao and Luoshenfu.
At the turn of Wei and Jin Dynasties, poetry creation showed a different style from Jian 'an era. Tao Yuanming is a great poet who can transcend the secular world. He witnessed the darkness of the officialdom, refused to go with the flow, decided to resign and retire, and maintained his personality spirit. Drinking in the Garden is his masterpiece of pastoral poetry. Tao Yuanming's poems have a great influence on later generations, especially the pastoral poetry school in Tang Dynasty. Tao Yuanming's prose and words are few in number, but they are excellent. The more famous ones are Peach Blossom Garden, Back to Ci, Feeling the Scholars and so on.
During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, many literati devoted themselves to literary creation, and the main literary styles used were poetry and parallel prose. The landscape poems of the Southern Dynasties shone brilliantly in the hands of Xie Lingyun, and then Xie Tiao's landscape poems were fresh and mellow, known as "big and small thanks". Li Daoyuan's Notes on Water Classics in the Northern Wei Dynasty and Yan Zhitui's Family Instructions for Yan Family in the Northern Qi Dynasty. The most successful writer is Yu Xin from south to north.
Judging from the formation and development of China's ancient novel genre, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties was an important stage, during which strange novels and anecdote novels appeared. Among them, Gan Bao's Searching for the Gods in Jin Dynasty and Liu Yiqing's Shi Shuo Xin Yu in Southern Dynasties deserve the most attention.
The national strength of the Tang Dynasty was unprecedentedly strong, the country returned to unity from a long-term division, and the feudal economy and culture were fully developed. The imperial court adopted a relatively open policy in all aspects, and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries were frequent, especially the imperial examination system of borrowing local poems and fu was established, which finally created an unprecedented prosperity of Tang literature. The number, achievements and influence of Tang writers' works are unprecedented.
Poetry in the Tang Dynasty is the symbol of a generation of literature, and the peak of China's classical poetry is the golden age in the history of poetry. In the early, prosperous, middle and late stages, famous artists came forth in large numbers, and everyone was colorful. Poetry creation covers almost all walks of life, men, women and children. There are more than 2,000 poets and nearly 50,000 poems in the whole Tang poetry, but the reality is far more than that.
During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao years of Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty, it was known as the prosperous Tang Dynasty. During this period, there appeared two major schools of poetry and the "Gemini" in the history of China's poetry. Landscape pastoral school represented by Wang Wei, Meng Haoran, Chu Guangxi and others. Frontier poets, represented by Gao Shi, Cen Can and Wang Changling, have a vigorous poetic style. The charm is deep and long, singing a strong voice in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Li Bai and Du Fu are "Gemini" in ancient and modern poetry circles. Li Bai's poems are bold and elegant, and are known as "poetic immortals" in history. Such as Into the Wine, it is hard to go, Difficult Road to Shu, etc., all show the poet's unique emotional tone and artistic personality. Du Fu's poems are known as "the history of poetry" and have a gloomy style. He expressed his concern for the country and the people with poems such as "Three Officials and Three Farewells" and "Ascending the Mountain".
After the Anshi Rebellion, Liu Changqing and Wei's landscape poems were the continuation of Wang Wei's and Meng Haoran's landscape poems. The frontier poems of Lu Lun and Li Yi are the last works of Gao Shi and Cen Can. Realistic poets headed by Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen launched a new Yuefu movement. Bai Juyi's Charcoal Man, Song of Eternal Sorrow and Pipa Trip. During this period, the Han (Yue)-Meng (Jiao) Poetic School was as famous as the Poetic School, and its poetic style was very interesting. There are Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Jia Dao and Li He. Li He is unique with his rich and romantic poetic style, and inspired Li Shangyin in the late Tang Dynasty.
In the late Tang Dynasty, Du Mu and Li Shangyin were the most accomplished poets. The world is called "Little Du Li". Du Mu is good at writing seven wonders, with excellent writing style and beautiful scenery. For example, "Walking in the Mountains" makes people never tire of reading it. Li Shangyin's seven laws are profound and beautiful, and he is good at winning with love poems.
Prose is another great achievement of Wen Yuan in Tang Dynasty. Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan led an ancient prose movement with literary innovation as its essence under the banner of reviving Confucianism. Han Yu's reasoning prose was destroyed, and the teacher said, answer Li Yishu. Liu Zongyuan's landscape travel notes are the most beautiful in later generations. Eight Notes of Yongzhou written after his relegation to Yongzhou became a model of travel notes literature in later generations.
The legend of Tang Dynasty is a mature work of China's classical novels. For example, Biography of Yingying and Biography of Li Wa are all written with vivid characters, tortuous stories and rich and vivid languages.
Ci-poetry is a new poetic style that emerged with Yan music in the Tang Dynasty. It comes from the people. During the Five Dynasties, Xishu and Nantang became the creative centers of ci, and Huajianji, the first collection of China's literati ci, came out in Xishu. Among the poets, Li Yu, queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty, achieved the highest achievement.
Ci developed into the Song Dynasty and entered its heyday, becoming the main symbol of a generation of literature. According to the records of Song Ci, there are more than 20,000 works and more than 1,400 poets. Poetry of Tang and Song Dynasties can be regarded as a double gem of China literature.
Words to Liu Yong's hand, with the first innovation. Liu Yong draws creative materials from the life of the middle and lower classes in the city, and is good at writing about the worries of men and women leaving lovesickness and personal wandering in the rivers and lakes. His ci poems are often described in simple terms, with distinct levels and popular language, which are full of civilian colors from content to form and are deeply loved by the citizens at that time. Words such as "Klang Ganzhou" ("Rain on the River at Dusk") and "Yulin Ling" ("Crying in Cold") are his exquisite works, which are popular but elegant, especially spread to later generations. As an innovator of Ci, Su Shi expanded the theme of Ci, improved the artistic conception of Ci, and enriched the expression of Ci, making Ci an independent lyric poem. He used words to describe the scenery, express his feelings and recall the past. He felt old and remembered his travels, with various styles. Jiangchengzi, Nian Nu Jiao and Shuidiao Song Tou.
At the turn of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, Li Qingzhao, the most outstanding poetess in ancient China, also appeared. Her poems have profound artistic conception, melodious feelings and fresh words, especially her works after crossing the south, such as the sound slow (looking for it), which combine the grief and indignation of national destruction with the pain of wandering life, touching and depressing.
Song Ci entered a new period of development after Songshi crossed to the south. Xin Qiji was the greatest patriotic poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. Xin Qiji brought the ideological realm and spiritual outlook of Song Ci to a glorious height. It is said that his ci is "laughing like a flower, burning like fire", which has raised the art of ci to a new height.
Jiang Kui, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, inherited from Zhou Bangyan. His poems are mainly about travel notes, praising things and cherishing people. His artistic conception is ethereal, his style is elegant and his temperament is strict.
Yuan Dynasty literature is famous for its operas, and Yuan Zaju, with its high social and historical value, unique artistic style and formal system, opened the golden age of China's opera literature. Guan Hanqing, who was born in a book club, is the founder of Yuan Zaju and a leading figure in the early stage of Chinese opera. His plays, whether they are case-solving dramas, love dramas or historical dramas, such as unjust imprisonment, saving the wind and a knife meeting by Dou E, are all good at combining realism with idealism, and are first-class works in Yuan Zaju. Wang Shifu's Romance of the West Chamber, through the love entanglement between Cui Yingying and Zhang Junrui, shows the personality conflict and complicated inner activities between the characters in detail, and it is a dazzling artistic pearl in Yuan Zaju. Important writers of zaju include Kang, Bai Pu, Ma Zhiyuan and Zheng Guangzu. Other famous zaju include Jin Yong's Negative Jing, Zhao's Orphan, Rain, Autumn in the Palace of Han Dynasty, Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio and so on. The plot is tortuous and the characters are vivid, and some of them still live on the stage of traditional Chinese opera.
In the Yuan Dynasty, there was also a lyric poem style that echoed the popular tunes at that time, namely Sanqu. Generally speaking, Yuanqu is a combination of zaju and Sanqu. In the early Yuan Dynasty, Sanqu writers were represented by Guan Hanqing and Ma Zhiyuan. Guan Hanqing's divertimento [Lu Nan Yi Hua] was simple and natural, humorous and provocative. Ma Zhiyuan's Tian Jing Sha and Qiu Si are the ancestors of Qiu Si with mixed scenes. Zhang's poems "Mountain Sheep" and "Tongguan Nostalgia" have precise sentences, which are rare in Yuan Qu.
In the Ming Dynasty, the urban economy was highly developed, the seeds of capitalism had appeared, and the power of citizens was growing. Popular literature, such as novels and operas, which meet the cultural and entertainment needs of citizens, is particularly prosperous.
Novels developed from the Song and Yuan scripts appeared in the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Hui's novel is the popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong in the early Ming Dynasty. Several main figures, such as Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Cao Cao. They are all well written, but on the whole, their descriptions are somewhat rigid to varying degrees. Another masterpiece of the Ming Dynasty is Shi Naian's Water Margin, which artistically shows the magnificent peasant uprising led by 36 people including Song Jiang at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. Many characters are lively. This book has a tragic ending, and the second half of the book is not as brilliant as the first half in art.
After the mid-Ming Dynasty, novel creation reached a climax. Historical novels, ghost stories, love stories and case-solving novels all have their own masterpieces, and there are still as many as 50 or 60 books that have been circulated so far. Among them, Wu Cheng'en's ghost novel The Journey to the West has distinct romantic artistic features. Jin Ping Mei, written by Xiao Xiaosheng in Lanling, is directly based on the social life of the Ming Dynasty, which profoundly shows some social conditions and human feelings of the officialdom at that time.
The main form of short stories in Ming Dynasty is parody of books. Feng Menglong's Yu's statement, his sincere words and Xing's words, as well as Ling Haochu's one-second surprise, are collectively called "three words" and "two beats". , the most wonderful chapters, such as "Du Shiniang's Angry Box" and "Selling Oil Lang monopolizes flowers".
Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in China. In the history of literature, China's ancient literature took the Opium War in the 20th year of Daoguang (1840) as the lower limit, followed by the modern literature stage. During this period, in order to consolidate the rule and quell ethnic and class contradictions, the Qing Dynasty implemented a policy of both high pressure and attracting intellectuals. On the one hand, vigorously promote the literary inquisition and carry out strict ideological control. On the other hand, the imperial examination system was used to attract scholars who served the Qing court. Therefore, the Qing Dynasty was an era of comprehensive revival of China's ancient literature, but it could not surpass the previous generation. After the Ming Dynasty, novels and operas have made great achievements. There are many writers in the fields of poetry, ci, prose and parallel prose, with many schools and remarkable achievements.
The highest literary achievement in Qing Dynasty is novels, A Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin is the pinnacle of China's ancient novel art, and another masterpiece is The Scholars by Wu. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was Li Ruzhen's Flowers in the Mirror, which reflected the author's democratic views on women's issues, but its ideological value and artistic achievements were inferior. As far as China's classical short stories are concerned, Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio is the most outstanding one in the early Qing Dynasty.
With the development of social economy, we have to face the problem of cultural inheritance of ancient literature in communication. Due to the economic development, especially in the background of the Internet age, many modern cultural languages have impacted the ancient traditional culture and distorted the ancient literature to some extent. Therefore, it is very important to strengthen the research and protection of ancient literature while maintaining authentic inheritance.
Ancient European literature includes ancient Greek literature and Roman literature.
Ancient Greece is located in the northeast of the Mediterranean, which is roughly equivalent to Greece now. Its political, economic and cultural influence extends to Asia Minor and Syria in the east, Egypt and North Africa in the south, southern Italy and Sicily in the west, and the Black Sea in the north. The Roman city-state is equivalent to Rome now. During the imperial period, the widest border was from Britain and the Rhine to the Black Sea in the north, including Mesopotamia and Syria in the east, the whole of North Africa in the south, Portugal and Spain in the west, and now Italy.
Both ancient Greece and Rome entered slave society from primitive commune, and experienced various stages of slave society from prosperity to decline. Greece was still in a primitive society before the eighth century BC, and the slave society gradually formed in the eighth and sixth centuries BC. The fifth and fourth centuries BC entered the heyday of Greek history, and gradually declined after the end of the fourth century BC, which is called the "Hellenistic" period. Rome also gradually disintegrated in the eighth and sixth centuries BC. After the development of slavery in the fifth and first centuries BC, that is, the Republic of China, it reached the peak of slavery in the first and second centuries A.D., that is, the peak of the empire. After the third century AD, the Roman slave countries declined and perished. Ancient Greece and Rome developed in parallel for a long time, and it was not until the middle of the second century BC that Rome finally replaced Greece's dominant position in the Mediterranean.
Both ancient Greece and Rome are the cradles of European culture. When most parts of Europe were still in barbarism, ancient Greece and Rome already had highly developed cultures. The culture of ancient Greece and Rome was based on the slave society. Engels said: "Only slavery can make a greater division of labor between agriculture and industry possible, thus creating conditions for the prosperity of ancient culture, that is, for the prosperity of Greek culture. Without slavery, there would be no Greek state, no Greek art and science; Without slavery, there would be no Roman Empire. Without the foundation laid by Greek culture and the Roman Empire, there would be no modern Europe. " In terms of ideology, national system, science and culture, modern Europe has countless inheritance relations with ancient Greece and Rome.
Ancient Greek and Roman culture is the product of ancient Greek and Roman society, but it developed under the influence of West Asian countries and Egypt, which developed earlier in culture. The influence of Egypt, Babylon and other countries can be seen in religion, science and philosophy. Even the Greek alphabet was formed on the basis of the Phoenician alphabet. When the culture of ancient Greece and Rome developed, it also influenced these countries in turn.
After entering the class society, ancient Greek and Roman culture reflected the class struggle at that time. The basic contradiction in slave society is the contradiction between slaves and slave owners, and there are also contradictions between superiors and subordinates within slave owners. Slaves are the main creators of social wealth, but they are in an absolutely powerless position and are not even treated as human beings. Their wishes and ideals can only be expressed in a tortuous and indirect way in culture. The dominant culture at that time was the slave owner culture. There are also two different tendencies within the slave owner culture, one is to represent the interests of the slave owners' nobles, and the other is to represent the interests of the slave owners' lower classes and sometimes slaves. This situation is clearly reflected in the struggle between materialism and idealism in philosophy. The materialistic philosophy of Greek philosophers democritus, Epicurus and Roman philosopher Lucretius represented the thoughts of slave owners' democrats, while Socrates, Plato, Stoicism, Neo-Platonists and their Roman representatives in Greece reflected the thoughts of slave owners' nobles. Some philosophers have both materialism and idealism, such as Aristotle.
There are many similarities between Greek and Roman cultures, but there are also differences. This is mainly determined by the respective characteristics of the slave society in Greece and Rome. The slave country in Greece is an independent city-state. In Athens, the most developed economy and culture, the internal democracy of slave owners is relatively sufficient. Rome, on the other hand, developed from a city-state into a huge slave empire, with stricter state apparatus and weaker democratic atmosphere. In addition, Greek industry and commerce are relatively developed, while Italy is suitable for agriculture, using slaves on a large scale and implementing a large farm system. Based on the above reasons and other factors, in Greece, especially in Athens, the field of philosophy has flourished; Literature becomes a part of active political life; On the basis of the development of literature and philosophy, literary theory has made great achievements; Science and art are very prosperous. In addition, Greek slave owners advocated the all-round development of spirit and body, full of wit and creativity. Rome, on the other hand, has made higher achievements in national concept, ruling technology, law, military technology and engineering. Advocating ethics such as perseverance, obedience and responsibility among citizens; In the field of philosophy, it takes what it needs from the ready-made Greek system and develops it, such as Epicurus, Stoicism, eclecticism and mysterious idealism in the Hellenistic period; In the field of literature, Rome followed the form of Greek literature and produced literature reflecting Roman characteristics; In addition, the parasitism of Roman slave owner culture is more prominent.
The Romans imitated and inherited Greek culture for the following reasons. When Rome was powerful in the third century BC, Greece had already experienced the heyday of culture (around the fifth century BC), when Greek culture was higher than Roman culture. Greece and Rome are geographically adjacent. Greece immigrated to Italy very early, and Rome later conquered Greece. Greece and Rome have the same social system. But when Rome became strong, Greek culture had entered a period of decline, and a large part of the influence Rome gained from Greece belonged to this period. More importantly, Roman culture, after all, is the product of Roman slavery society and cannot be regarded as a simple repetition of Greek culture.
As far as Greek literature and Roman literature are concerned, the former has a great influence on the latter, but they also have their own characteristics. Marx pointed out that Greek myths and epics are the products of the most perfect childhood of mankind and have permanent charm. Myths and epics are the creations of all Greek people. After hundreds of years of tempering among the people, it has made unique achievements in many aspects. After Homer, Greece produced a series of outstanding writers, such as lyric poets Sappho, Anacreon, Pindar, fable writer Aesop, tragic writers Aesop, Sophocles, euripides, comedian aristophanes, philosophers and literary theorists Plato and Aristotle, as well as speakers and historians. Tragedy and comedy writers, in particular, are closely integrated with Greek slavery democracy and work enthusiastically for the cause of democracy. Their works have profound ideological content. Based on folk literature, they boldly inherited and innovated and made great achievements, forming the classical period of Greek literature. Aristotle formed a complete set of literary theories in the 4th century BC, especially the theory about tragedy, which had a far-reaching influence on the later development of European literary theories. Ancient Greek literature is original in thought and art, and the realism and romanticism methods in the later period of Europe can be traced back to Greece. The main genres of European literature, such as epics, Oracle poems, lyric poems, pastoral poems, tragedies and comedies in plays, as well as history, speeches, philosophical papers, dialogues, literary criticism, biographies, legends and fables in prose, all originated in Greece.
Although the overall achievement of Roman literature is not as good as that of Greece, it serves as a link between the past and the future and serves as an intermediary between Greek and later European literature. Roman literature had a great influence on Renaissance, classicism and18th century European literature. Through Roman literature, people can see the face of some lost Greek works. Roman literature developed Greek literature in some aspects and was original in some aspects. For example, Virgil's epic shaped the epic in ancient European literature. Cicero's speech reached the highest level of ancient eloquence in skills; Lucretius's philosophical poems occupy a unique position in ancient literature; Plautus's comedies were closely combined with Roman life and made some achievements. Satire is more developed in Roman literature; In addition, epigrams and novels in Roman literature are also prominent in ancient literature; In terms of literary theory, Horace put forward the dual functions of education and entertainment of literature and art for the first time. However, due to the obvious parasitism and decay of Roman slave owners, under the influence of late Greek literature, Roman literature tends to be decadent.